Inset: Donnie Ray Birchfield (Lancaster County Detention Center). Background: A blurred image of the Birchfield residence in Lancaster, S.C. (Google Maps).
A South Carolina man already behind bars over allegations of holding several people captive in his basement for years is now facing even greater legal jeopardy, prosecutors announced this week.
Over the summer, Donnie Ray Birchfield, Jr., 35, was charged with 16 counts related to the alleged underground confinement of four adults, as Law&Crime previously reported.
As of Friday, the defendant is facing a total of 18 charges.
Birchfield currently stands accused of one count each of murder, criminal sexual conduct, financial identity fraud, financial card fraud, two counts each of financial card theft, abuse of a vulnerable adult, and domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, as well as four counts each of false imprisonment and exploitation of a vulnerable adult, according to the Lancaster Police Department.
The murder charge is related to the death of Shirley Arnsdorff, 49, police announced in a press release. On July 25, the woman was allegedly found dead by responding officers on the floor of the defendant”s residence on Churchill Drive in Lancaster – a small town located a few miles due south of the border with North Carolina.
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“This is a heartbreaking case that has profoundly impacted our community,” Police Chief Don Roper said in a statement. “The Lancaster Police Department is dedicated to achieving justice for the victim and her family. We extend our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family and hope that we can bring them some peace through justice. We encourage anyone with further information to come forward and assist us in this ongoing investigation.”
Police first visited the house in response to a so-called “unattended death,” according to warrants obtained by The Post and Courier.
On Aug. 1, Birchfield was arrested on neglect and false imprisonment charges. More charges were added in warrants released in late September, authorities announced as the case developed.
The deceased woman was married, police said. The defendant was allegedly the sole caregiver to her and her husband. Authorities are unclear how Birchfield knew the couple, according to the warrants.
Birchfield is also alleged to have denied the husband access to sustenance and medical necessities, law enforcement say.
“That’s a sick individual right there,” one of the defendant’s neighbors told Charlotte, North Carolina-based ABC and Telemundo affiliate WSOC. “He’s a sick person to do something like that.”
The two other victims were women with whom the defendant was romantically involved, the court documents allege. One woman had been living with Birchfield since September 2024; the other woman had been living in the house since 2015, authorities say.
Birchfield is said to have controlled the victims’ movement – only allowing them out of the basement when he allowed. This level of control extended to when the victims ate and used the bathroom, authorities claim.
Each victim’s cell phone was controlled by the defendant in order to keep them from calling for help, authorities say. And, at least one of Birchfield’s so-called “romantic” partners was regularly strangled, according to law enforcement. These routine punishments caused her to fear for her life, authorities continued.
Adding to the woman’s apparent fear was a comment the defendant allegedly made about prior experience with disposing a human body, according to the warrants.
Birchfield also committed extensive financial crimes against the couple in his care, authorities say. This scheme involved years of using the couple’s credit and debit cards to pay for at least $2,000 in online Walmart purchases dating back to 2021. At least 32 such purchases were made “solely for the listed suspect’s use and not for the victim,” a local police report obtained by the Post & Courier alleges.
This year, however, the spending apparently ramped up.
In the eight months of 2025 before his arrest, Birchfield allegedly spent in excess of $11,800 from the couple’s bank account to pay off his own debts, police say. Additional charges may yet be filed.
Birchfield is being detained without bond at the Lancaster County Detention Center, according to the police department.
